As with all Fridays, this past Friday was Hair Band Friday, so the Coverocktober song comes courtesy of Danish-American hair band White Lion. On their third studio album, 1989's Big Game, they covered "Radar Love," the classic 1973 hit from Dutch rockers Golden Earring. The song is one of the greatest driving songs of all-time (if not one of the greatest rock songs period), about a guy who is speeding home to his lady, causes an accident, and dies ("one more radar love gone"). Until the last ten years or so, I didn't realize the line was "Brenda Lee's 'Coming on Strong'" (a reference to a 1966 song by Brenda Lee), but rather, I thought it was "brand of leaves coming on strong" (a reference to cigarettes the narrator must have been smoking to help keep him awake on his long drive). Anywho, the original was a big international hit for Golden Earring, reaching #13 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as #1 on the pop charts in their native Netherlands and reaching the Top 10 on the pop charts in six other countries.
The song has apparently been covered over 800 times, though arguably no cover was a bigger success than White Lion's version, which peaked at #59 on the Billboard Hot 100 (the band's fifth and final single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100). White Lion's version stays pretty true to the original, and at about the 3:20 mark, there is one of the most delicious drum fills you'll ever hear, courtesy of drummer Gary D'Angelo.
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